A suspected Taliban prisoner is searched, handcuffed, and processed by Canadian soldiers in northern Kandahar on May 10, 2006.JOHN D MCHUGH
The Conservative government is pledging to quickly resurrect the special Commons committee on Afghanistan once Parliament returns next week.
The committee, which died when Parliament was prorogued, had been digging into the contentious issue of Canadian complicity in prisoner abuse by Afghan authorities.
Opposition MPs speculated that the government ended the parliamentary session to squelch the gadfly committee and suggested it wouldn't be reconvened.
But Government Whip Gordon O'Connor has written to the Official Opposition pledging to bring the committee back.
Just before prorogation, the committee butted heads with the Tories over access to uncensored documents and the Commons voted to force the government to produce the papers.
Conservative MPs boycotted the committee for a time in December.
And at one point the government suggested it was prepared to ignore the demand for documents.
That set the stage for another opposition vote after Parliament resumes that could find the government in contempt.
Afghanistan prisoner abuse has been a burning issue since diplomat Richard Colvin told the committee in November that detainees captured by Canadian soldiers were likely tortured after they were transferred to Afghan authorities in 2006 and 2007.
The Harper government repeatedly attacked Mr. Colvin's credibility, while 95 former ambassadors signed a letter of protest over how the diplomat was treated.